Saturday, 26 February 2011

With an eclectic production repertoire spanning a range of styles within bass music, Manchester's Dom Hz has consistently delivered tunes of real depth, variety and originality. His releases are a testament to his range: 'Don't Stop', out on Subdepth Records, is a dark, thumping, roller; Dub Discipline and Dub Trippin' - both collaborations with fellow Mancunian Synkro - are dubbed out tracks reminiscent of the War series output; and the three track Mist EP has a summery, ambient and altogether more soulful vibe. We caught up with Dom to discuss his tunes and influences as well as his regular Rood FM slot and to hear his take on the Manchester bass music scene. Dom has also contributed to our mix series showcasing an array of dubs and forthcoming releases as well as some new, unfinished bits.

Hedmuk: Just as an introduction , what’s your name, where are you from and how would you describe your sound?

Dom Hz: Hi. My name's Dom, I Produce under the name 'Dom Hz' and I'm from Manchester. Describing my sound is tricky as I make tracks according to my mood and influences around me at the time; I think most people would place my material under the dubstep/2 step genre, but I prefer 'Bass Music'

H: How did you get in to making beats?

D: I played keyboard from a young age, when I was 15 I started writing lyrics to drum'n'bass and hosting in small nights in Manchester; at 16 I started a music course at Mancat College and learned Cubase and Reason. It was then I realised I wanted to make beats.

H: What, in your opinion is your best beat to date? Why?

D:. Tricky question... If I had to say one in particular, probably 'Without You'. Its a mellow, downtempo dubstep track with warm rhodes and a nice vocal sample. I played live piano riffs on top and really got stuck in with the percussion. I was very happy with the overall sound of the track: I learned a lot of new tricks whilst in this project. It was released on the flipside of my 'Mist EP' 12" on Open Earz and later selected by Joe Muggs to go on a 'Ministry of Sound' compilation CD: good times!

H: You don’t seem to limit yourself stylistically to one genre; can the same be said for your influences? Who influences you?

D: Yeah definitely, I listen to loads of different music, otherwise I get bored! I get inspiration from everywhere, if I was to mention names from the styles that I make I would have to say artists like MJ Cole, Todd Edwards, Commix, Lomax, RSD, Ruckspin, Roska and too many more to mention. Also, a lot of my friends such as Synkro, Biome, Indigo, Shadowfax, Sparks and loads more.

H:Your beat repertoire contains a number of different styles; Garage, 2 Step, Dubstep, DnB and Funky. Do you personally make any attempt to define the music you make into genres? Or do you prefer to see the boundaries between different styles of Bass music as more fluid?

D: Yes and no. I make sort of whatever comes out at the time, but I do try to stick to certain genre techniques, structures and tempos mainly for dancefloor and mixing purposes. I do try to switch things up to keep it exciting, for example most of my 2 steppy stuff will at some point have a half time section etc.

D: Ah, Rood FM. That's a whole lot of fun! Basically, 'Fish' (the geeza who runs it) sent me an email in December asking if I fancied a slot, it just so happens that I was actually thinking about doing a radio/podcast thing at the time. It's just starting up, but the website is very professional and the sound quality is very high. I play it weekly from my friend and fellow DJ/producer, Holden's house. He's got a great setup with Pioneers and a strong internet connection. Basically we have a bit of fun with it: lots of jokes in the shoutbox etc. I've been told we are fun to listen to!

H:Do you view yourself most strongly as a DJ or Producer?

D: I think my DJ skills are pretty average, I can beatmatch 2 tracks pretty well, but I'm no good with party tricks like scratching and beat jugglin'. I don't think I'd get booked to DJ without producing and releasing music. So I'm probably a better producer.

H: You’ve long been involved in the Manchester Bass scene alongside the likes of Synkro, Biome and Chimpo, amongst others. How do feel this scene has developed? And is it a fast-paced scene – are new producers, styles, influences always entering entering the fray?

D: I always think that Manchester seems to not get as much attention as it deserves in our genres. But obviously guys like Synkro and Indigo are definitely breaking the mould in a big way. Chimpo's tunes and remixes are too much, as for Biome, well his new stuff is the best music I've heard since Noisia! Newer producers like Shadowfax and Sparks will soon be doing big things in my opinion. The future's definitely looking better for the Manchester artists that I know and I'm sure there are many more that I'm not aware of.

H: Were you trying to get at anything in particular with this mix with your selection and blends?

D: When I do mixes I tend to just play what I'm feeling at the time. Although there are a couple of my unfinished bits at the start of the mix that show where I'm moving towards. Everything in this mix is a real personal favourite of mine at the moment.

H:Just to finish off, any forthcomings or plans in the pipe-line you would like to share?

D: Loads: quite a few releases lined up, next one I think is forthcoming on Subdepth, 'Hollow', quite a jump-up style release. I will be carrying on my show on Rood every Wednesday, gigging wherever I can, and I'm very much looking forward to playing at Outlook Festival in September.

Sunday, 20 February 2011

It's another free release from the most generous man in music, and this time Skream has given away two free tunes which represent both ends of the spectrum of his current output: 'Darkin It' comes on like a harder version of 'Metal Mouth', while 'Under The City Lights' (previously only released in Japan) works as a follow up to album track 'Where You Should Be'.

Friday, 18 February 2011

Another member of the Pitch Controllers collective, DJ JJ follows his fellow Rinse regular Spyro with a tightly-mixed collection of the tunes currently making waves in the grime scene. The mix features a number of forthcoming releases from the Pitch Controllers' label from the likes of Royal T and Spyro, which will follow on from Maniac's recent 'Devil vs. Saltfish EP'.

Friday, 11 February 2011

Continuing on from 'Hungry Season', Lil Nasty has followed his brother in releasing a free EP in the run-up to the release of his much awaited second CD, 'Nasty By Nature'. The 'Rock N Rolla EP' continues Nasty's blending of aggressive lyricism and an interesting choice of beats, aswell as seeing features from the usual mix of established names like Ghetts and Griminal alongside newcomers like Stelf.

The release also comes with an announcement of the forthcoming release of the 'Nasty By Nature' single, which first appeared on the DTA Grimetape, on the 28th of February.

Example Magazine are celebrating their second birthday after a hugely successful year with a carefully selected lineup of some of their favourite artists. More details, including how to get tickets, can be found here.

One of the leading lights in the Dutch bass music scene, Myrkur has an eclectic appreciation of music which can seen in both his sets and own productions. This tune plays a fine balance between its deep subs and dark edge and the ambient, female vocal sitting atop it to donate a haunting tone.

Monday, 7 February 2011

A veteran of the UK Garage, Grime and Dubstep scenes, T_! is one of the key figures whose name will continually crop up in discussions of the history of these now chart-dominating genres. His tireless work in developing his skills behind the decks and using them to promote new talent via crackling pirate radio frequences or in front of sell-out crowds at the reknowned Stink Like Sock is indicative of why his name makes such reoccurences. We caught up with him to talk about his involvement in the development of the music, his approach to DJing and his experiences in running a major Bass Music night. He also found time to lay down mix number 10 in our series of exclusive mixes, which is a three deck mix packed with dubplates and covering the usual span of sounds with a root in UK Garage.

Hedmuk: To introduce yourself to those who don't know yet: what's your name, where are you from and how would you describe your mixing style?

T_!: I’m T_!, I’m based in North Hertfordshire kind of smack bang in the middle between London, Cambridge and Milton Keynes. My mixing style, erm, energetic, creative, technical and random!

H: Would you describe yourself as being from a musical background, or was it something you picked up yourself?

T: My Dad was always very much into music, I remember being introduced to so many different sounds and genres from a young age: Reggae, Disco, Blues, Soul & Motown, Rock’n’Roll, Punk, early Electronic and then House as it emerged. He is a bit of a vinyl nut too so I was exposed to handling records and appreciating what they were, and I loved the warm sound. My Dad was a bit techy aswell so there were always big speakers, amplifiers he’d built himself, and hi-fi separates set up to optimum sound, I recall plenty of times the neighbours had to ask us to turn it down!

H: When did you start DJing, and what were you mixing when you first started?

T: I started buying Garage records with the desire to DJ in about 1999, with pirate radio, local record shop Big Drum Records, and Garage Nation and Exposure tape packs fuelling my love for the sound. The darker tunes always stood out for me. I had a turntable handed down without pitch control, but managed to save up for one SoundLab belt drive first in 2001 and just mix tunes over the top of DJ EZ mix CD’s, trying to hold the beatmatching tight, cos I know EZ wouldn’t drop a beat. Shortly after I got a second belt drive and started mixing and beatmatching properly.

H: Was mixing something you picked up quite quickly, and how what made you decide to move on to mixing on more than two decks?

T: I suppose so. I was so intensely into it that once I had my decks, I was getting up at 6.30am and headphone mixing in my room so I wouldn’t be loud, then as soon as I got in, back on the decks practicing, only stopping to eat dinner, and then for bed. Listening to how DJ’s like EZ would mix so tight for so long, I knew I had to polish what I was learning, because whilst you hear DJ’s mixing sloppy, I knew the tools in front of you could produce clean, mind-blowing mixes if you took the time to learn how to handle them properly. I wanted to play on the local pirate so bad, I just became obsessed with practicing until I felt like I’d got to a point where I was confident to mix well in front of other people, and within 6 months of having my decks I had a show on that pirate.

After quite a few years of mixing on two turntables, it becomes second nature, so you have to add something to it to keep your skills honed, to up your game, because you can never be the best DJ, you can always be better. I still feel the same about DJing as I did when I first started, the passion and excitement for it remains. I’m concentrating more on the mixing as production isn’t something that time allows, so I need to come with something different to smash up the club even more. Seeing people's faces when your putting an extra dimension on what they are hearing is brilliant. Dubstep heads are some of the most dedicated followers and listen intently, so you know what your doing is being appreciated by them, and that drives you to try and come with even more fucked up mixing!

H: How did you get involved with Macabre Unit?

T: The whole Home Counties area generally is pretty tight knit; in the Garage days everyone knew everyone who was doing it from around Herts, Beds and Bucks, there was plenty of pirate radio and raves so everyone was aware of who was making moves and there was a good community vibe. I first met Raff and 9er (K9) at a rave, I was playing in the Garage room, and they were in the Drum & Bass room, playing what was, at that time, very dark, forward-thinking D&B. Shortly after that Grime broke, and I was feeling their dark twisted 140bpm sound and it being a Home Counties thing, it was only right to push it. They were huge guys in Grime when it first peaked, it gave us a sense of pride that our area was being repped on this level. Whilst Raff spent a lot of time in the studio making beats, as I was DJing out a lot I would essentially be representing the Macabre sound at that time. As Grime slowed in pace, Raff and 9er just got more versatile; their sound works so well with Dubstep, so it was a natural progression.

H: How has the Grime scene progressed since then?

T: It all got a little bit too aggy and started coming away from the music a bit too much. Grime is such a hype music, it gets a reaction. When that reaction started becoming a negative thing it sucked the life out of it. Now people have matured, thought about it a little bit more, you see artists collaborating now who would have threatened to shank each other a few years ago, and the new breed seem to be looking up to the founders now and conducting business in the right way. Grime definitely has a bright future.

H: As someone who has long supported the connection between the Grime and Dubstep sounds, what is your view on artists such as P Money currently looking to make crossover tunes?

T: To me its all come out of the same bag, Garage is the root of Grime and Dubstep. If the end product is good, it doesn’t matter which genre pigeon-hole it sits in. As long as the small minority of idiots who followed Grime and ruined it for everyone else don’t bring the bad vibes to the raves, bring it on. It can only continue to breed creative music.

H: Stink Like Sock is one of the most respected bass nights in the UK; how did the night come about, and how do you go about putting together lineups which keep people returning for the dance?

T: The night came about after first being discussed probably late 2006 by myself, and friends Swiss and Daddy Genius, 2 brothers who DJ’d on the same pirate station as me. We were sick of raves with poor production, ethics, sound systems and stale music. We felt like people were being ripped off and deserved better. We planned a free party in March 2007 in the back room of a pub in Hitchin, with a big soundsystem and DJ’s from the Home Counties area who’s sound we respected. We caught a big following after a few months, ramming out the room at the pub and getting them a nice fine after nearby residents complained about the bass from the sound system. I was invited to play Dubstep in room two at legendary Drum & Bass night Warning at the Junction, being the first to do so. After seeing a wicked response there, Junction and Warning head honcho Pete Edwards invited us to co-ordinate what was to be the first main room big Dubstep event in East Anglia, and from then it just snowballed.

We try to always put a lineup together that you won’t see anywhere else, something that people are going to look at and go “WOW!”. We love all elements of Dubstep and Bass Music so we try to bring something which is gonna cater for everybody, and also bring a little education to people that might not be familiar with other sounds.

Production is very important, we have all come from a serious raving background so we try to focus on all the elements that matter, so everyone leaves at the end with a huge smile on their face. We’re very passionate about the end product when we put our nights on, we stick to our ethics. Putting on raves is about leaving a legacy, helping people to have nights out they are going to remember forever, and not about trying to fill your pockets by scrimping on the most important areas.

H: What has been your favourite Stink event so far?

T: September 2009 was a huge one, I felt like the atmosphere was gonna take the roof off the Junction at stages, it was so hype, crazy hype! Heny G rounded off the night in epic fashion, and I just remember hundreds of smiling faces as the lights came on at the end. Also when we had Skream, Distance, Ramadanman and Kryptic Minds last year, that was a pretty special one. I wish there was more time to take it in, because you’re forever running about sorting things out and making sure everything is spot on, that the end of the night hits you before you know it.

H: Do you view yourself most strongly as a DJ, a producer or promoter?

T: Definitely a DJ, I’m obsessed with it. You can be so so creative if you select and mix well, adding a third deck just increases your possibilities. I’ve been working on the 4 deck thing, only tried it out in the club a few times. You have be mindful of how those 4 things are gonna sound together and EQ them right. You can easily make it sound like a pile of noise if you’re not working the mixer enough. Production isn’t something I can fit in at the moment, as the promotion thing is very time consuming if you want to do it properly. We have the big Stink Like Sock nights, the monthly Bassbox events at Cambridge Fez, and the Cambridge Gold team to co-ordinate so things are non-stop busy.

H: With a vinyl collection of over 11 years worth of tunes, what would you say is your most prized piece of wax?

H: Can you tell us a little about how you went about preparing the mix you've done for us?

T: I’ve never ever been one for planning mixes, I think it stifles your creativity massively. I’ve seen people play pre-planned sets in clubs, they’ve cleared the floor, and then been unable to detract from their planned set and killed off the whole vibe. You have to be reactive as a DJ. For this mix I basically got a stack of 60 odd tunes I felt like I’d want to include, covering a variety of bass music angles, put them in a pile in front of me, smoked a zoot and just got into mixing zone. That’s the way I always tend to do it; it keeps things interesting.

H: Finally, is there any news or projects in the pipeline that you want to put the word out about?

T: Yeah we got our Stink Like Sock 4th Birthday event at the Junction in Cambridge on 5th March with Nero, 16Bit, The Others, Subscape, Mensah and Icicle and collaborations on events with both Outlook Festival and Sin City in Cambridge in the first half of 2011, and you will catch the Stink Like Sock crew repping in Croatia at Outlook aswell.Also there’s plenty of new Macabre Unit music out, some included in the mix, and the old Grime classics are becoming available to buy digitally atwww.icuaudio.com so check them out!